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A small (~$20 million) hedge fund hired the defendants to manage an investment account by using algorithmic software to make trades in the account. After closing the account due to a nearly $2 million loss, the hedge fund learned that most of the trades in the account were made manually, and not via the algorithmic software. The fund sued for breach of contract and fraud, but the federal district court dismissed the claims holding that the parties’ contract did not require software-driven trades. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit panel assigned to the case unanimously agreed with our arguments regarding contract interpretation.

The end result: The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court, giving the hedge fund another chance at recovery.